A SHOCKED Middlesbrough family had a lucky escape when their home was hit by lightning.

Paula Hobson, 36, said the sun was blazing just moments before her Millbeck Way home was zapped by the bolt on Sunday afternoon.

“I didn’t think it was lightning. It sounded like an explosion,” said the mother-of-four.

“It was very loud. Even the neighbours round the corner heard it.

“We didn’t know what it was. It was scary. I’ve never been so scared.

“It was a big bang and the kids all came running down the stairs. Two of the kids were screaming.”

The strike smashed a two-foot hole in the brickwork on the side of her house and damaged the gable end of the roof.

And the moment of impact was captured on camera by 12-year-old Thomas Readman, who lives in nearby Birch Tree Close.

The family lost their electricity and Sky TV signal and next door’s Freeview box and DVD was also blown out.

“It was red hot one minute, then the rain came down and it went on for about 15 minutes,” said Paula.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Keith Fenwick of the Met Office, said the strike, caused by a build-up of warm air above Teesside on Sunday, could have been devastating.

He said: “If lightning does strike a house, it can result in a current passing through metal pipes or wiring, which can be very dangerous if you’re standing near a radiator or something else metal. But it is quite rare. There are around 300,000 ground strikes every year but on average that means someone gets struck every 6,000 strikes of lightning and someone’s killed every 100,000.”

At 4.30pm Paula called firefighters, who made the building safe.

Cleveland Fire Brigade said: “Two appliances from Middlesbrough Fire Station attended this call. There was no fire damage but there was roof and gable end damage and masonry had fallen to the ground.”